If no deal is in place in the next 7 days, the NHL is going to cancel the majority of games in December. So looks like the season is starting in 2013 now regardless of whether they get the deal done to save the season.

I'm annoyed we might lose Datsyuk because of this. Why bother coming back to the NHL? Two work stoppages and he could be making much more money playing in the KHL. His English is still sub-par and you can tell it annoys him, and his wife/family (To my knowledge) still live in Russia. His contract is nearly up and he's 34. He's got two rings and won every other award (excluding Hart) that he might care about. If I'm Datsyuk, I don't resign with Detroit for the 2014/15 (depending on how they work the contracts) season.

With the KHL offering more money to big name Russian players and the constant threat of a work stoppage in the NHL, why would you want to leave your native country to come to the NHL? I don't want a league where the Malkins/Datsyuks/Ovechkins don't want to play in it. It's already becoming a reality with Kuznetsov who may never play in the NHL.

Last edited by Irony; 2012-11-15 at 11:10 PM.

You can tell WoW changed the MMO for good when players started complaining about the amount of time they sink, into a time sink.

I'm annoyed we might lose Datsyuk because of this. Why bother coming back to the NHL? Two work stoppages and he could be making much more money playing in the KHL. His English is still sub-par and you can tell it annoys him, and his wife/family (To my knowledge) still live in Russia. His contract is nearly up and he's 34. He's got two rings and won every other award (excluding Hart) that he might care about. If I'm Datsyuk, I don't resign with Detroit for the 2014/15 (depending on how they work the contracts) season.

With the KHL offering more money to big name Russian players and the constant threat of a work stoppage in the NHL, why would you want to leave your native country to come to the NHL? I don't want a league where the Malkins/Datsyuks/Ovechkins don't want to play in it. It's already becoming a reality with Kuznetsov who may never play in the NHL.

I honestly don't think he is going to and if he does it would be for one year. There is tons of speculation he is going to head back to Russia after next year anyways when his contract expires. Why come back to reduced salaries in the NHL for one more season when he can continue being treated like a king in the KHL?

---------- Post added 2012-11-16 at 06:56 AM ----------

Gary Bettman has now suggested that the negotiations take a two week break since they have grown so toxic. Super...

See you next season NHL. Grats Bettman and the owners on almost guaranteeing a second cancelled season in the past 8. What an accomplishment.

Isn't there anyone who can fire Bettman? Like, I still don't think he's the right guy to lead it, nor that it is heading in a good direction.

The only ones who can stop the Bettman are the owners and they completely support the lockout. Well all the owners clearly don't, but enough of them do. I wish the owners would break rank and lay out exactly which owners do and don't support the lockout. I feel like there is no way Detroit, Philly, Chicago, etc. do because they flat out make too much money to want to miss an entire season of revenue, especially Mike Illitch in Detroit who is going to be looking at building a new arena very soon. I'm sure Nashville, Minnesota, Tampa, Florida, Dallas, Anaheim and part of Phoenix's ownership (see because the NHL owns them lolololol fuck Phoenix) support the lockout because those franchises bleed money like someone stabbed with a WW1 trench knife (the ones made from sharpened fences). I tend to think Jimmy Dolan in New York does because he is such a heartless douche bag that he has been forcing his employees to use vacation time if they missed work because they were homeless thanks to the hurricane (yes he really did do that).

It would just be nice to know which owners we can tar and feather and throw off the roofs of their taxpayer funded arenas when the inevitable economic collapse of the world results in the mass murder of the elite old school Europe style and which guys actually care about the people who made them as successful as they are.

Can the 6-10 American hockey teams that actually make money leave the NHL, and open a new league with some teams in Canada? Florida, Tampa, Dallas, Nashville, Phoenix, and a few other teams don't need to exist. The league management, especially Bettman, is shockingly inept. How does a league completely overhaul it's salary structure so completely that you lose a season over it, and have to do it again so soon? It's nuts. Just close the league, get some people together to build a better one, and start fresh. Embrace Canada, that's where the following is. How the league expands do much and never puts a team back in Minnesota is beyond me. This is why I haven't followed hockey in years. The last two seasons, I started watching in the playoffs again because it was really entertaining. Then you blow that goodwill so soon. I'm done with the NHL. Good riddance.

So here is a fun lockout scenario. The Glendale city council is going to be reviewing a new arena deal with Jamison on November 20th, a deal that is even more friendly to Jamison than the one they made in June but never got done. The vote on that would likely take place November 27th or so and it would be contingent on Jamison buying the team. The new deal would pay him between $11 and $18 million dollars every year to manage the arena. So you ask, why does it seem like they are hurrying to get this done again? Oh ya, because the voters fired all of them and the mayor and voted for staunchly anti-Coyotes people who are going to kill the arena deal and force a Phoenix owner to stand on his own damn feet. So if the NHL lockout isn't over by January when the new city council members and mayor take office, the Phoenix deal is going to die again.

CONTRACT THE GOD DAMN TEAM. There is no benefit to keeping the Coyotes in the desert. There will never be a market, they couldn't sell out playoff games.

Fixed that for you.

So last week's talks apparently blew up after an argument between one of the staunch lockout owners and a player escalated. Raise your hand if you would be surprised to find out that that owner was Craig "My team is too poor to compete but wait now we gave out $200 million in contracts" Leipold of the Minnesota Wild. Fuck that guy.

So last week's talks apparently blew up after an argument between one of the staunch lockout owners and a player escalated. Raise your hand if you would be surprised to find out that that owner was Craig "My team is too poor to compete but wait now we gave out $200 million in contracts" Leipold of the Minnesota Wild. Fuck that guy.

Is it sad that I forgot the Minnesota Wild was a thing? The NHL just can't sustain so many teams, and it has too many teams in markets that just don't care at all about the sport. Why did we decide that moving the team from Winnipeg to the bloody desert in Arizona was a good idea again?

Florida, Tampa, Phoenix, Anaheim, San Jose, Dallas, Nashville, Columbus should all go. St Louis, Washington, and Carolina should be thought about. Give the Nordiques back, maybe Hartford too if they could come up with an arena that wasn't awful. Seattle could probably support a hockey team as well. I really want to see a functional hockey league again.

Is it sad that I forgot the Minnesota Wild was a thing? The NHL just can't sustain so many teams, and it has too many teams in markets that just don't care at all about the sport. Why did we decide that moving the team from Winnipeg to the bloody desert in Arizona was a good idea again?

Florida, Tampa, Phoenix, Anaheim, San Jose, Dallas, Nashville, Columbus should all go. St Louis, Washington, and Carolina should be thought about. Give the Nordiques back, maybe Hartford too if they could come up with an arena that wasn't awful. Seattle could probably support a hockey team as well. I really want to see a functional hockey league again.

Toronto can easily support another team. Also there are a few other places in Canada that are more than willing to take a team

I can't believe the league is so poorly managed, it's actually awful.

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

To prevent confusion over whether you’re playing a card game or returning to town, the Hearthstone will now be called a Homerock.

St. Louis does have the market for a team, their attendance has been fine for the past 5 seasons.
Washington is fine until Ovi leaves or they start losing.
Nashville actually has the chance to be a good small market team, they're building a fan base.
San Jose sells out every game, though that is due to their ticket prices being rather cheap, but with time hopefully they can raise the prices.
Tampa can build around Stamkos and they're decent in attendance.
Columbus I'd like to see win before we call them an awful market, they've been a terrible team excluding one season.
Anaheim is whatever, it's California so it's a very band wagon state.
Dallas had very strong attendance for about 8 seasons, then every other team in Texas started doing good while the Stars dwindled.

Florida, and Phoenix though, really shouldn't have teams.

---------- Post added 2012-11-20 at 11:48 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Sylore

Toronto can easily support another team. Also there are a few other places in Canada that are more than willing to take a team

It'll never happen, I doubt another team in Ontario ever happens. Though it could work, the Leafs ownership wouldn't allow it to happen. Hamilton seems the more obvious place, though with Buffalo being so close it won't happen. Quebec City is the next Canadian city to get a team and the only one that seems plausible.

Last edited by Irony; 2012-11-20 at 11:49 PM.

You can tell WoW changed the MMO for good when players started complaining about the amount of time they sink, into a time sink.

St. Louis does have the market for a team, their attendance has been fine for the past 5 seasons.
Washington is fine until Ovi leaves or they start losing.
Nashville actually has the chance to be a good small market team, they're building a fan base.
San Jose sells out every game, though that is due to their ticket prices being rather cheap, but with time hopefully they can raise the prices.
Tampa can build around Stamkos and they're decent in attendance.
Columbus I'd like to see win before we call them an awful market, they've been a terrible team excluding one season.
Anaheim is whatever, it's California so it's a very band wagon state.
Dallas had very strong attendance for about 8 seasons, then every other team in Texas started doing good while the Stars dwindled.

Florida, and Phoenix though, really shouldn't have teams.

Tampa had trouble selling out playoff games. They don't need to be a team. There was never a reason at all to expand to Columbus. At the rate the NHL is losing money, they don't really have time to wait and see if Nashville can support a team. Dallas had great attendance when the team first moved there. The Cowboys, Mavs, Rangers, and basically any college football are always going to draw better in Texas. San Jose and Anaheim are basically the same case, attendance is really good when they are good, and isn't when they aren't. St Louis and Washington were borderline cases. It really depends on if the business people think there is sustainability there. I remember the Blues were in awful shape attendance-wise for a while. Until the league turns around, they need to stick to big markets or markets that are traditionally hockey towns. Hell, it might be worth a try to move one of the poorly performing teams to Detroit, just to give it a shot before it gets contracted.